


The New World

by Latent



Category: Owlboy (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-08-23 02:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16610030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latent/pseuds/Latent
Summary: The anti-hex worked, the islands returned to Earth, and Otus fell.But what happened to everyone? What happened to Otus? What will happen next?A new adventure begins.





	1. The Laws of Motion

**Author's Note:**

> This is obviously all AU and headcanon-based information, as the true full lore behind Owlboy is unknown to every single one of us! So not everything may be 100% accurate to the story, that’s what fanfiction is for after all, right?

As a wise man once said, “What goes up, must come down.”

 

Despite the Ancient Owls’ best attempts, the laws of the universe at their cores remained unbroken. Countless floating masses of land gently descended into the oceans below with a certain instinctive grace. It seemed as though the islands were self-aware, guiding themselves away from underneath each other as to not crush anything below them.

 

A few lower-hanging islands had already found their homes in the water, long before the ones higher above would. However, as the higher islands fell, something else fell faster. If the sky were any darker, it could have been confused for a comet. 

 

To those viewing the sight from the surface, it was nothing more than a glowing speck, plummeting to the Earth like lightning. One such viewer was Asio, still standing calmly at the lookout point of Vellie, simultaneously satisfied and worried sick over the islands’ descents. Otus and his friends had likely done something right up there… though he was nervous about their return.

 

Asio remained standing in silence, watching the speck. He assumed it was some other piece of debris falling from up high, and thought nothing more of it. 

 

Hundreds of miles above him, where the grand floating tower had previously been, was the Dreadnought. Solus, Alphonse, Twig and Geddy had been fortunate enough to land on its deck as the anti-hex tossed them aside in the opposite direction of Otus.  Now under Alphonse’s control, the Dreadnought made its way rapidly towards the surface alongside the islands. The group of friends muttered frantically to each other about their shared concern for one thing: Otus. None of them had seen where he went.   
  


Asio glanced up and noticed the massive ship approaching Vellie. Immediately he was on guard, throwing his cloak out, prepared for an attack.

 

The ship, as Asio and the rest of the continent’s dwellers would soon realize, was the least of their concerns. 

 

Suddenly, the light screaming towards the ocean vanished into the depths. In one moment, the water shattered like glass and erupted as if an atomic bomb detonated under the waves. The force of the impact was so powerful that thousands of gallons of water rocketed into the air, creating a burst reaching hundreds of feet tall. Everyone from Vellie and Tropos to Mesos and the Dreadnought above witnessed the event, stopping to stare and wonder what could have the power to cause such a thing. 

 

Asio shifted his attention back to the Dreadnought, which had almost completed its drop to Vellie. He squinted and shielded his eyes with hand, examining the ship more closely. Asio let his cloak drop, relief washing over him as he spotted the familiar face of Geddy. The green-clad defense mechanic waved his hat at Asio frantically, letting him know they’d seen him too. 

 

As the Dreadnought docked itself next to the lookout point, Asio immediately boarded and scanned the deck for his student. He frowned and looked down at Geddy, feeling anxiety slowly building up once more.

 

“Geddy. Where is Otus?”

 

Geddy, Alphonse, Twig and Solus exchanged expressions of fear and guilt.

 

“We… We thought he’d be here with you!” Geddy exclaimed, throwing his hat back on. “He got thrown in a totally different direction than us, and we lost sight of him!”

 

“Wouldn’t anyone have seen him falling?” Twig asked, squinting up at the sky. “I think it’d be pretty hard to miss something like that, right?”

 

The group was silent for a moment. Each one of them looked back to the ocean, where the massive column of water was still settling as a mist that blew across the land and caused a bit of rainfall.

 

Something, or someONE, did fall. 

 

_ “ _ **_Oh. Sweet. MERCIFUL. MAKER._ ** _ ” _

 


	2. Challenging the Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otus survived, and found something rather unexpected.

When you’ve spent your entire life living in the sky, there’s almost no need to  learn how to swim. A few citizens, Toby for example, did so for their own personal hobbies, but there was no practical need otherwise. Due to this, the skill was not present as a priority for most folks.

 

Such was the fate of poor Otus, who had already sunk further than the continents themselves. He had been completely unconscious upon impact, but began to awaken as he was pulled further and further into the ocean depths.

 

Otus’ eyes snapped open, and in he failed around in a panic. The ocean water felt like ice, colder than the snow of Mesos and darker than the heights of the atmosphere. The owlboy shut his eyes and clasped his hands over his mouth, forcing himself not to breathe in the water. His lungs burned and his eyes stung, the increasing pressure of the water almost too much to bear. 

 

Otus believed that it was a miracle he’d survived the fall, attributing that to some kind of relic magic, but he accepted that he may not be so lucky again. 

 

Moments before blacking out one final time, he felt himself fall again. He was roughly yanked downwards, then thrown to the side. Otus sat up straight, then both coughed up water and deeply inhaled.  _ Air. He could breathe _ .

 

But… How? Where was he?

 

Otus took another couple minutes to sort himself out before shakily pulling himself to his feet and wringing out his owl cloak. At first the room he was impossible to see in, but as he took a few steps forward, odd and ancient-looking lanterns lit up along the walls.    
  


_ ‘An owl temple? Here?’  _ he thought to himself, confused. Nothing he’d ever read had mentioned more owl temples, ESPECIALLY not ones in the ocean. Was it possible it was meant to be kept secret?

 

Otus suddenly stopped walking and instinctively reached down for his prized possession, the teleporting artifact. Fear overcame him as his hand gripped nothing but air. The artifact must have fallen off either when he collided with the water, or while he was being tossed and turned by the ocean’s currents. Whatever the reason, even the light of the lanterns wasn’t enough for Otus to find the artifact in the large, dark pool. 

 

He carried on alone, nervously wrapping himself in his torn and soaking wet cloak. Otus shivered, unsure of whether the water running down his face was from the sea or his own tears. Oh how desperately he wished that he would just wake up in his cozy home with the fire lit. How desperately he wished Asio were there to guide or even to scold him. A firm scold and a slap on the wrist sounded like heaven compared to whatever hell he’d gotten caught up in this time.

 

Otus’ teeth chattered and he felt fatigue taking over the further he made his way into the strange, damp temple. He had no way of gauging how much time had passed since he arrived, and his mind was clouded with thoughts of his friends. Were Solus, Geddy, Alphonse and Twig okay? Were the citizens safe? Were the islands finished descending? What would happen to Solus? What would Asio be thinking? Were the others even looking for him? Would they care? They were probably too busy with other things, like the islands, to come looking anyways…

 

Otus clutched his cloak tighter and let out a hoarse whine, his head feathers drooping as he did so. 

 

Deeper he travelled, growing more and more uneasy as minutes passed. Otus eventually made it through the end of the hallways, and into a massive open room. The sight just about took his breath away. 

 

Undisturbed by anything but time, the grand area was just as the ancients had left it. The size of everything was simply daunting. Books upon books covered every inch of the walls. Scrolls draped along the shelves and desks, some even left unfinished. Decorative stone pillars stretched high above his head and met at the tip of the domed ceiling, the rest of which was made of some kind of glass. He could see nothing but the dark waters, a haunting reminder of where he was trapped. 

 

Otus crumpled to the floor and cowered under his cloak, the realization fully setting in. He was stuck, under hundreds of feet of ocean, in an ancient temple they were all completely unaware of, after falling from the sky in what likely looked like a certain death. His teleporter was broken, and he could never swim back out. No one would come for him.

 

If only he had a voice to scream with, maybe someone would hear him, somehow.

 

He must have eventually fallen asleep there, because he was awoken by a voice that shouldn’t have been familiar to him, but was anyways. Otus threw off his cloak and sat up, eyes hysterically searching every corner of the room until he saw… him. 

 

The tall, arguably creepy old owl, Noctae himself. Or, rather, another hologram of him. The hologram spoke in a calm but stern manner. 

 

_ “Young owl, do stand. You arriving in this place was no mere unfortunate accident. There is not time to lay around and pity yourself. You are an owl. A descendent of the most intelligent and revered that the world has ever known. You are a very special one, Otus. Time and space have already dictated the path of your legacy. Completing our anti-hex was only the first of many incredible feats patterned in your destiny. I have poured days and restless nights into helping you prepare. My mathematics have not once failed me before, and I believe my predictions will be correct as always. I have but one thing to ask of you now: Will you accept? Will you accept your place in the new loop that was created with you as the catalyst? I implore that you will. There is a whole new world now for you to explore, a whole new world full of new crucibles waiting for you.” _

 

Otus listened carefully and approached the hologram with caution. He didn’t believe that he fully understood what the hologram was talking about… He also didn’t believe Noctae had the right owl. Why him? Why not Solus? Wasn’t Solus the one who figured everything out to begin with? All he did was beat him up and ruin the process. Otus only finished the job because of a fluke. He wasn’t supposed to be some big important hero. That title should go to someone who worked harder, and deserved it more than him. Someone like Solus. 

 

_ “There are several minor things I would like to add to this, however. I ask that you do not tell anyone about this until the time is right. Keeping this temple a secret during my own lifetime was a hard enough task. Another thing. If I am to assume my calculations are accurate, I believe the capital city, Advent, has been destroyed in the struggle to complete the anti-hex?” _   
  


Otus let his feathers droop again. The fall and destruction of Advent. All of those homes, institutions, and citizens lost. All of it his fault. He could have done more up there. He could have tried just a little bit harder, and the tragedy would have been avoided. Asio was right about him, he really was a disappointment.

 

_ “Well, I am sure it will satisfy you to hear that if you choose to accept your destiny, you will learn incredible things… including a way to restore Advent to its former glory, through the power of the fantastical science I have discovered _ .”

 

Otus’ feathers perked back up, and he inched closer to the hologram with an interested sparkle in his eyes. A chance to undo his apocalyptic mistakes? How could he refuse?

 

_ “Should you accept, I will teach you that, and so much more. I will teach you to control the elements as we have. I will teach you how to travel to and from this temple. Your practice and study with me will not have to consume your entire life. If you wish to accept… approach the journal left open on the center table. I beg you! The owl legacy must live on!’ _

 

When its message had finished, the hologram disappeared. A way to leave! Otus immediately rushed to the journal the hologram spoke of, his desperation for a way to leave overpowering every other sense he had. That, and the opportunity to fix every disaster he was unable to stop was simply too enticing. Otus grabbed the dusty journal and yanked it towards himself. Underneath where the book had been resting was a hidden compartment with a wax-sealed letter on top. He took the letter as well, propping the journal under one arm. Otus gingerly tore the envelope open, and read what was written.

 

_ ‘My sincerest gratitude towards you, owl descendent, for accepting your destiny and graciously carrying on our legacy. Take the satchel from the table compartment. Inside, you will find a few things that will aid you on your journey. The bag is also more than an ordinary satchel, and can fit more than it first appears to be able to, a simple marvel of our engineering capabilities. The most important object within the satchel is something from my own personal collection. It is a clasp that will hold your own owl cloak together, however, when activated it will grant you a new one. One that can be summoned and returned at command, a powerful one, strong enough to escape the strongest winds and reach incredible heights. It will also be my main source of communication to you besides my journal throughout your studies and adventures. You will hear my voice within your own head, no one else will hear it. Do be cautious and vigilant.  _

 

_ -Noctae.’ _

 

Otus took the bag and tied it around himself underneath his cloak. He took out the clasp artifact Noctae described and fastened it to his cape, but hid it under his collar fluff. As promised, Otus started hearing whispers in the back of his mind.

 

_ “You can use the ancient cloak to exit the temple and return to land. It will allow you to effortlessly glide to the surface. Heed my final warning, though, and know this: Your companions will likely be scouting the shoreline, searching for you. You may want to release the ancient cloak before breaching the surface, so that it remains unseen. The transition underwater may be uncomfortable, but it is a small price to pay. Go now, Otus, seek your destiny.” _

 

He didn’t have to be told twice. Otus sprinted down the hallway with newfound energy, excited to finally go home. He summoned the ancient cloak to practice a bit, and was shocked to experience its true strength and how quickly he adapted to it. Otus almost felt ashamed of his own plain brown cloak after feeling the energy of the ancient one. 

 

Otus quickly arrived back to the waterfall pool he had stumbled in from. Much to his delight, he noticed the teleporter artifact at the edge of it. He quickly grabbed it, and then stuffed it into the satchel on his shoulder. He stood with his feet apart and leaned forward in a takeoff stance. Otus mimicked his mentor Asio by snapping the cloak’s wings out with a powerful gust, giggling silently to himself over his pretending. Part of him still felt ashamed that he had done all this without his other friends, and that he wasn’t supposed to involve them with it. Noctae did say he could tell them when the time was right… but when would that even be? How would Otus know?

 

It didn’t matter to him then. All that mattered was getting home.

 

Otus took a running leap, and shot up through the waterfall. He could feel the cold, salty water of the sea glide around him, causing zero resistance. Near the surface, he remembered what Noctae had suggested, and willed the ancient cloak away as he broke through. Otus was immediately overcome by the sea and fiercely treaded the water, trying to stay afloat. Right, he still couldn’t swim. 

 

Luckily, Noctae’s predictions had been right again, to no surprise. There  _ were  _ people looking for him. As a matter of fact,  _ everyone  _ had been looking for him. Even Twig’s pa and brother left their safe Mesos abode to scour the beaches with the residents of Vellie and the survivors of Advent. Otus violently gasped for air and waved his hand in a panic, knowing he wouldn't last much longer. 

Something roughly grabbed his arm and yanked him right out of the ocean in one adrenaline-filled motion. Otus found himself being crushed in an emotional embrace, and could hear the muffled shouting of everyone else around him as his hearing was impaired by not only by whoever was surrounding him, but also from the saltwater stuck in his ears. 

 

Otus quickly recognized the clothing and smell of whoever had grabbed and was hugging him as belonging to none other than his mentor, Asio. 

 


	3. Non Sequitur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otus is rescued by his friends! Hooray!
> 
> But Noctae isn't quite done with him yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's pretty long!

It made sense that Asio was the one to get him so quickly, considering how far out in the water Otus assumed himself to be. Asio’s grip stayed tight enough that Otus couldn’t move his arms to hug him back. Otus could feel Asio’s arms trembling despite the tightness, and figured it was because he was now soaked with freezing ocean water.

 

The little owlboy soon felt sand beneath his feet, but Asio refused to remove his grip on him. Otus could hear more muffled shouting surrounding them, and gasped as more pressure was wrapped around him. He suspected that the others present on the beach were joining in a group hug. Otus could hear sobbing, and his own name being repeated among the muffled crying.

 

After what seemed like forever, Asio finally relented and loosened his grip on the boy. Otus looked up and flinched as he noticed his mentor’s face. Tear-stained, exhausted, and hysterical, Asio had stayed up all night and spent all day relentlessly hunting over  the water for any sign of him. Otus felt a hard pang of guilt and winced, convinced that Asio’s condition was solely his own fault.

 

“You foolish… foolish boy…” Asio scolded him, though softly, and knelt down to his student’s level. “I thought… we all thought you…” Asio paused to choke back more tears. After that day, he’d most likely never admit to how much he cried. “Otus, we thought we had lost you for good. Words cannot describe how proud of your accomplishments I am, however… now that this ordeal has run its course, I am forbidding you from ever doing  _ anything  _ as reckless and dangerous as this again, is that clear?”

 

Otus lowered his head and nodded, understanding. The words of Noctae nagged at the back of his mind, however, and he wondered how he could follow the wishes of both mentors if one was pushing him towards action, and the other was banning him from it.  

 

Asio was forcibly shoved to the side without warning by Otus’ favorite green mechanic, Geddy, who was still actively sobbing. He pulled Otus into a tighter hug than Asio had. 

 

“OTUS! BUDDY! You’re alive! I was so worried! I thought you didn’t survive the fall! The incredible duo, Otus and Geddy, reunited!”

 

“Master Geddy, I do believe you are crushing the poor boy’s spine,” interrupted Alphonse with a gentle pat to both Geddy’s and Otus’ shoulders. “Geddy does raise an intriguing point, though. How, I inquire, did you survive such an astronomical plummet? How did you conquer the treacherous waters of the unforgiving sea for longer than a full day?”

 

Otus remembered how he’d fallen asleep inside the temple. He must have slept all through the night… Even if he  _ could  _ tell them about the temple, he wouldn’t be able to with his limited communication abilities. He simply shrugged instead of coming up with an elaborate excuse on the spot. 

 

The group gathered on the beach tilted their heads in unified confusion.  Solus, present among them, sensed Otus’ anxiety before any other and quickly diverted the conversation for his sake. 

 

“O-Oh, I’m sure y-you’ll remember after some r-rest, r-right? It’s probably j-just a memory thing…!” 

 

The other citizens collectively agreed, and hastily started escorting Otus back to the now-flat Vellie. Otus let out a sigh of relief and gave Solus a thankful look, glad he was there to help but still uncertain of his future. Did the people of Vellie know the truth yet…? He would have to ask later.

 

The march to Otus’ house wasn’t terribly long, and his heart lit up upon seeing it. Finally, home… 

 

Otus also spotted the other constructions of Vellie nearby but still a fair walk away, noting that height had been replaced by distance. That must mean that Mesos was even further away. Otus glanced skyward, then quickly shot his gaze down. Seeing the full sky, unobstructed, was too much for him to handle yet. Asio, ever more protective of his young student, saw Otus’ reaction and extended one wing of his cloak around him reassuringly. The new world would definitely take some getting used to, and Otus was happy that Asio was there to guide him.

 

Asio heavily implied that everyone (with the exception of Otus’ friends) should say their goodbyes and come back to visit during the day tomorrow and so on, as Otus needed rest. The thought of resting itself was enough to kill Otus’ energy burst, and the excitement of his entire ordeal quickly disappeared. His next few steps were stumbles, until he finally collapsed. One chorus of gasps and one perturbed professor lifting him later, Otus found himself snugly tucked into bed. Alphonse made tea while Geddy and Twig fixed up the house a bit, and Asio fed some kind of bitter-tasting medicinal solution to Otus with a spoon. Otus scrunched his face in disgust, prompting an eye roll from his mentor.

 

“You were in the cold water for far too long, Otus. I will not allow you to be sick or injured again when I could have prevented it!”

 

Otus obviously  _ wasn’t   _ in the water for as long as they all thought, but once again, he was unable to explain it to them. He struggled through the medicine and felt drowsiness wash over him. 

  
“Get some rest now. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow. While the others are helping with physical tasks, we will continue book studies until you are fully recovered. I don’t want you leaving this room until you’re recovered either, understood?”

 

Otus rolled his eyes, annoyed, but agreed to obey his orders.  _ At least, for now _ … His eyes drooped, and the last thing he saw was his mentor and his friends, together again in his home.

 

~~~

 

Otus suddenly snapped awake from his unconscious slumber. He sat up straight in bed with his eyes wide and feathers puffed out like a frightened animal. With one hand placed over his chest to help calm his beating heart, Otus shifted position so that he could see the clock on his bedside table.

 

_ 3:00 AM _

He had a strange nightmare, not quite unlike his usual ones. Otus was in the dark, shadowy version of Vellie where all of his neighbors appeared as menacing, foggy silhouettes. It’s where he felt watched and judged by thousands of unseen entities. This time, as he cowered his way through the village, the usual ridicule from those around him was accompanied by a droning, buzzing sound that increased in volume throughout his journey to the point where it drowned out the rest of the dream. The sound was so deafeningly loud, even in his dream, Otus had to curl up and lie down with his hands over his ears. The dream shifted suddenly to his mentor Asio grabbing him roughly by the arm and screaming in his face that Otus had failed him. The islands around them were floating higher and higher into space, and the anti-hex lay broken on the ground. He had failed. As the island rose, it became harder to breathe. Before Otus finally choked to death, he woke in a panic.

 

Otus rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, confused in his dreamy state. Below him were his friends and his mentor, scattered around the floor, all asleep. Otus was stunned. He never woke up early, let alone before everyone else,  _ especially  _ not before Asio. A shiver ran down his spine upon seeing the face that only moments before had harshly ridiculed him. Otus reminded himself that it wasn’t real.  _ It wasn’t real _ .

 

But why  _ had  _ he woken up, anyways?

 

Otus examined the room again, now more aware of his surroundings and consciousness. He noticed the satchel from the temple was still tied around him, though the knot was a bit loose and the fastenings were slightly undone, suggesting someone had tried and failed to remove or open it. Otus breathed out a sigh of relief. His secret was safe for now… though now he figured they would be curious about the bag and its origin. Thankfully, his limited communication would make avoiding explanations fairly easy. 

  
The air was still, nothing seemed out of place, so what else could have woken him? 

 

Otus pulled one hand from underneath his blankets and wrapped it around the clasp still hidden under his collar fluff. Luckily, his friends must not have found it. As his hands grasped the cold metal of the artifact, Otus closed his eyes and listened intently to a ghostly whisper at the back of his mind.

 

_ ‘Return to the temple, descendent. Your presence is needed there. Go at once.’ _

 

Otus narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. Go? Now? At 3:00 in the morning? Very well then... Otus was not one to disobey the request of an ancient owl. He carefully pulled off his covers and slid out of bed. He knew Asio was a fairly light sleeper, so he took extra care in being cautious and silent. Otus bunched his pillows together under the blanket in a vaguely him-shaped formation, in case that would actually fool the guests downstairs into thinking he was still asleep should they wake up before he returned.

 

Otus slid his boots on, then his silver gauntlets. He made sure the satchel was secure before slowly climbing down to the main floor. He stepped over his sleeping companions while sweating profusely, terrified that he might slip up and wake them due to his infamously clumsy nature. Otus made his way across the room and approached his door, putting one hand on the knob. He warrily turned it and opened the door with one last look at his friends and mentor. After stepping through, he turned and gently shut the wooden door without a sound.

 

Once outside, he took in a deep gulp of air, realizing he had been holding his breath.  _ Note to self, breathe next time _ .

 

Otus stretched out the wings of his cloak and took the sky with a smile. The feeling of the wind through his hair and feathers mixed with the sight of the whole world below him was a much-welcomed sight after experiencing the ocean temple. Not having a high place to land on was strange to him, but he’d try to get over that soon. 

 

He retraced his steps back to the beach where he hovered over the entrance to the temple. Otus scratched his head and looked around, wondering how he was actually supposed to get all the way back down there. Before, he had slam-dunked the water from outer space. He couldn’t simply do that this time.

 

_ ‘For your first lesson,’  _ the quiet voice at the back of Otus’ mind spoke again,  _ I am going to teach you an ancient move lost in time. It is a precise and powerful flight maneuver that will serve you well with getting places quickly, avoiding danger, or returning to the temple. The move is fairly simple. First, it helps to have momentum. Return to the sky above the beach.’ _

 

Otus did as the voice said, and waited for further instruction.

 

_ ‘While flying horizontally towards your target, you are going to need to perform a type of roll. Throw your dominant wing down and the opposite wing up while twisting your body towards the dominant wing. While your head is skyward, start to force the front half of your body downward, and use the momentum of the roll to do so. Tuck your wings and arms in, flat against your sides, streamlined. You are going to need to be as straightened out as possible to minimize contact with the water’s surface. This aerial technique is called the Stoop. I implore you to practice the stoop high in the air before attempting to reach the temple with it. To stop the stoop in mid air, you can either throw out your wings to catch the air or change position so that your body horizontal again and slowly open the owl cloak. Keep in mind that if you choose to do the latter, you will rocket forwards whereas if you choose to do the latter, you will be pushed upward before parachuting down at a slowed pace.’ _

 

Otus tried to keep the influx of information in mind, but found it difficult to without repeating what was said several times. Once he was confident with the instructions, he flew up higher to practice.

  
Attempt one was a definite failure. Otus underestimated the force necessary to roll himself over mid-flight. 

 

Attempt two was only slightly more successful. He managed the roll, but overshot it and spun out instead of diving straight down. Disheartened, Otus lined himself up for another try, but had already lost faith in himself. He was never a very good flyer  **_or_ ** student, so he wasn’t confident in his ability to learn the new move. 

 

It took three more tries, but Otus eventually got the hang of it on lucky try number five. He successfully rolled and dove, though his stops were still a bit spotty. Unwilling to waste any more precious time, he returned to the beach, got into position, and took off towards the temple entrance. 

 

_ Right wing down, left wing up, body twist, head down, wings in, vertical plummet _ . 

 

Otus grinned and hit the water with little resistance, glowing from his own success. He dove into the temple’s grotto entrance and pulled himself from the pool.  _ Note to self, learn how to swim _ .

 

He shook the sea water out of his cloak and feathers and made his way back down the hall towards the massive, round room. It took him a few minutes to remember the right way, but he eventually saw it appear in the distance of the hall. 

 

Once inside, the voice in his head came to guide him.

 

_ ‘Excellent work. You are a proper ancestor to the owls indeed. I, Noctae, have full faith in your ability to carry on our legacy. Now. Please approach the center table and empty the contents of the satchel there.’ _

 

Otus stepped forward did as he was told, carefully laying out each object. He hadn’t had the time to explore the satchel yet, and he felt excitement and curiosity building up upon seeing each item.

 

_ ‘Turn your attention to my journal. It is the larger, more worn of the two books. Think of this as the text you will be studying. It is full of my research, along with helpful miscellaneous information. The other notebook in front of you is for your own notes and research. Anything you see fit to remember, you are free to write it down with the feather pen also included in the satchel. Worry not about running out of ink, it will not happen, simply write. There are bookmarks as well, for the obvious purpose of bookmarking specific pages.’ _

 

Otus ran his fingers along both notebooks, studying the differences between the two. The one described as Noctae’s was longer and three times thicker than the other. It was bound in a dark brown leather hardcover, and its pages looked yellowed. The cover had ancient symbols and various designs engraved on it. The journal itself looked tattered and old. The smaller of the two notebooks was brighter in color, bound in a light brown leather hardcover. It had less engravings that looked similar to Noctae’s, and its pages were still crisp. 

 

Otus grabbed Noctae’s first, and began flipping through it. He squinted and frowned at the writing, unable to understand it. The journal was written entirely in ancient text. Would he have to learn how to read it?

 

_ ‘In case you are unable to understand the ancient language, you may find another object of the satchel useful. It is a special magnifying glass that when held above writing will translate the text into your english.’ _

 

The magnifying tool’s glass center was roughly the size of Otus’ palm and it’s outer edge had more ancient text and various tiny precious stones embedded in it. Otus lifted the glass to the page and watched in awe as the letters morphed and became legible.

 

_ ‘Now, allow me to add two new pieces to the satchel’s collection.’ _

On the far wall in front of Otus was a shelf of what looked like miniature chests. Two chests clicked open, revealing a golden antique pocket watch and an a scroll. Otus cautiously approached the shelf removed the objects before returning to the table and studying them closely.

 

_ ‘Because of the success of your efforts, the world should now be whole again. This scroll may look underwhelming upon first glance, however it is much more than a simple sheet of paper.’ _

 

Otus unrolled the scroll, and studied the page. All that was pictured was a small brown triangle. 

 

_ ‘This is a map. It may look empty now, but it will fill with your travels. Each new location you discover will appear. The map will also serve as a guide. When you are needed somewhere, a glowing star will appear in that location. If  you have not yet been there, the star will still appear, and it is your duty to follow it. Should you misplace any of these items, the final object shall serve you well. The pocket watch tells the accurate time, though it has a hidden function. If the holder pushes down on the top button, they will be able to see past loop events. This function will only work once every two rotations of the second hand, therefore, two minutes, and the visions will not be long. Use it to retrace your steps and reclaim the lost objects. If the objects are fully destroyed, they will return to the temple within a day unharmed and you may reclaim them there. Go now, descendent, back to your home. Remain vigilant, and wait for your first real assignment.’ _

 

Otus was completely still as he stared at the golden watch. If Noctae’s words were truthful (and Otus would never accuse him of lying), he had something of real significant power in his hands. How these objects were capable of these things, Otus had not the slightest clue, but the ancient Owls were hyper intelligent enough to pull it off.

 

Otus carefully stuffed each item back into the satchel, and threw in his own teleporter artifact. Eyeing the other chests along the shelves, he wondered whether or not those would be his in due time as well. He regretting being unable to tell anyone about the temple yet, especially Solus, who would likely know much more about everything inside. 

 

Remembering Solus reminded Otus of the situation. He anxiously ripped the golden watch out of the satchel for the time. **_5:00 AM._** _Had he really been gone 2 hours already?_

 

Otus hastily returned the watch and fastened the satchel around his shoulders again. Asio would be waking up soon as he was always up early, and would definitely not be fooled by the pillow trick for long. Otus sprinted down the hall with the last of the energy he could muster, annoyed that all of the stoop practicing had worn him out.

 

He summoned the ancient cloak from the clasp artifact as he had during his first escape and leapt into the grotto’s waterfall. Up through the ocean and into the sky he went. In a split second, Otus decided to use the ancient cloak for his flight home to save time. 

 

The difference in performance shocked him. Simply flying with the cloak was faster, smoother, and easier than with his own little brown one. The ornate cape had to have been twice its size and carried even more strength. Each single flap of the ancient wings carried him as far as four from his own cape. Otus soon found that the ancient cloak had a hood with two large protruding feathers, similar to Solus.’ The wings of the cloak were designed with black, browns, whites, cream colors, and even some gold. He definitely couldn’t be seen wearing it, and took a moment to silently thank Noctae for his genius plan of making the cloak hideable. 

 

Vellie was luckily still asleep upon his return. Otus returned to his house and entered as carefully as he had left it. He climbed into bed as exhaustion washed over him. The soft white quilt and fluffy mattress had never felt more comforting in his life. 

 


	4. Wake Up Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep an eye on Otus, he's about to do some scheming, there he goes

The house erupted into chaos at the alarming shout of Asio, who stood in the doorway with his signature annoyed glare. Twig panicked and stuck all four arms out, knocking several books down from the upper platform. The books hit Geddy and Alphonse, who were sitting down below. Alphonse was completely unaffected, and stuck out his arm to shield Geddy from any more books after the first few hit. Solus sat in the corner, skittishly twiddling his thumbs and glancing at Asio nervously every few seconds.

 

Otus rapidly sat up, but soon wished he hadn’t. Pain shot through his entire body, starting at his head and feet and moving inward. His whispery, hoarse cry of pain (all he could manage as a mostly mute) caught the attention of the other five present. They quickly rushed to his bedside, where Asio gently forced him to lie back down.

 

“Otus, you are still healing. I cannot imagine that you would have retained no injuries from the impact you had with the ocean a few days ago. It is a miracle you weren’t shattered like glass! I am ready to accept your being alive without question on the condition that you  _ allow your body to heal _ .” 

 

Otus registered most of what Asio had said, yet half of his words felt foggy and unclear as he could only focus on the horrible pain. Every inch of his body felt fractured and his brain was no exception, the world around him unfocused as his vision blurred. It was as if he were laying on a bed of nails and with every movement the nails dug deeper. Otus’ body stung horribly, but he couldn’t imagine  _ why _ . He knew he was a bit delirious from only receiving an hour of sleep, but that didn’t explain the crippling agony he felt. If it really stemmed from his collision with the water, surely it would have hurt the day before… He shut his eyes and tried to relax, but found great difficulty in doing so.

 

“On the contrary,” Asio continued after pausing to calm down properly. “The rest of you have  _ other  _ tasks. Twig, I am assigning you to go assist in the impromptu medical centers. They are the large white tents set up between Vellie, and the remains of Advent. The nurses there are in dire need of extra hands… and I believe you are suitable for that role.” Asio waved a hand at Twig, who left with a salute and a goodbye. Asio then turned to the others that remained. “Alphonse, I would like you to aid the workers that are making efforts to reconstruct Advent. There are several other groups of leftover automatons also pitching in, and they could all certainly use your strength. Geddy, you will be returning to your old job. The new, foreign terrain requires new defensive technology. Transit is now easily accessible to everyone, AND every **_thing_ ** . Invaders, monsters, so on. Our gate systems became obsolete the moment the islands reconnected with the surface of the planet. Now go, both of you, there is no time to waste.”

 

Geddy and Alphonse also exchanged goodbyes and left the way Twig had come. Solus stood from his place in the corner and began to follow them, but the path to the door was suddenly blocked. Asio slid in front of the entrance, and pulled the door shut behind him. Solus cringed and took his seat again. From his bed above, Otus frowned and glanced down at his worried friend. Surely Asio wasn’t aware of what Solus had done yet, right? No one should have known at all besides him, Solus, Geddy, Twig and Alphonse… Unless they told Asio and the others while Otus slept of course…

 

“Not you, Solus. I have need of you here for now,” Asio said calmly. “I, as well as everyone else, am completely in the dark. I haven’t the slightest idea as to what happened up there before the islands fell. I didn’t expect to see you, Solus, at all. Because you were present, however, I would like to personally ask you to explain the events that occurred. I would ask Otus, obviously, but…”

 

Solus and Asio both looked up to him. He stared back and felt his feathers droop, showing his embarrassment. 

 

_ “Don’t be embarrassed about something you have no control over, buddy,”  _  Otus remembered Geddy saying sometime in the past. “ _ It’s not your fault you don’t have a voice, and it isn’t something to be ashamed of either. Besides,”  _ he playfully added with a wink, “you can still kind of hoot and whistle just like any other owl can at least!” That part was what really flustered him. The owls were capable of “hooting,” but adamantly denied it. It was a social taboo to hoot in public, but was rumored to often be heard among ancient owls when they gathered in their private libraries. Whether excited, angry or surprised, Otus and other owls alike might involuntarily let one out.

 

“Well, he is unable to.” Asio finished his sentence with a sigh. Otus shot Solus a worried look, now aware that he hadn’t explained yet. Would Solus tell the truth…?

 

“I-I….” Solus began with his signature stutter. He scrunched his face, unable to force himself to meet Asio’s gaze. The thought of what he would say had plagued him ever since he first discovered that the islands were ascending into space. Every day he wrote and rewrote his explanation for his action, but in that moment, found the words lost on him. No amount of planning would have been able to salvage the tension he felt.

 

“I…. w-well... we… I-It’s all my fau-” 

 

Solus was cut off mid-sentence as Otus abruptly sat up in his bed with a disapproving frown. He felt another wave of pain, though luckily less severe than the first, and was promptly made to lie back down again. 

  
“Otus, what did I tell you about resting?!” Asio scolded, pulling the blankets back over Otus’ shoulders. “Solus, what is the meaning of this???”

The snowy owl in question did nothing but grow more hysterical, shocked at Otus’ sudden outburst. When he found his words again, he moved over to the door and pushed it open.

  
“I-I think we sh-should… talk out here, i-if you don’t m-mind…” 

 

Asio reluctantly left Otus’ side with a nod, and followed Solus outside. Otus begrudgingly stayed put and stared at the ceiling above him. Would Solus really tell the truth? Would he tell something worse than it? From the sound of what Solus had initially tried to say, he was going to blame the whole ordeal on himself. He had only been trying to help! Otus knew it was himself who failed to obtain the first, second, and third relic before the pirates. He failed Vellie, he failed Advent, he failed everyone. Solus was the one who discovered the problem, made the plan, and saw it through. In fact, it was Otus who distracted him and forced him to fight the first time. The ordeal with Molstrom never would have happened if it weren’t for that. 

 

His feathers drooped. He hadn’t really thought about how much damage he’d caused until that moment. A thousand different thoughts swirled around his head, each one more extreme than the last. What if he made an even bigger mess while everyone was trying to clean up? What if he somehow caused even more damage to Advent while the teams were trying to rebuild it?

 

Otus pulled himself forward, ignoring the pain that came with it. He carefully slid out from beneath the warm blankets and stretched his hands towards the ceiling. The muffled talking of Asio and Solus was barely heard as he yanked off the temple satchel and dug through its contents until he found the map. Otus slowly unfolded it and stared. 

 

Marked on the map was the rough outline of the now-grounded Vellie, Tropos, Stratos and Mesos. It also had the locations of places like the eternal sanctuary, the ocean temple, the owl library, the adventure emporium and more all marked as well. Otus traced his fingers across the mostly-empty page with a slight frown. The areas he knew seemed so… small compared to the rest of the map. How much else was really out there…?

 

He’d have to find out for himself.

 

The conversation outside turned into a full-blown argument within minutes. Otus hardly noticed, however, as he shuffled around his cottage and gathered what he considered essentials. The satchel wouldn’t have room for much else, but a few bags of snacks like seeds wouldn’t hurt. 

 

The only remaining question… should he take the others with him?

 

...No. They all had uses. Jobs to do. Geddy was a mechanic, Alphonse was strong and unofficially adopted as the new leader of the automatons, and Twig had his own unique skills that were needed by others. 

 

Otus resecured the satchel around his shoulder and climbed back into bed as nonchalantly as possible, not wanting Asio -or anyone else for that matter- to know he’d been scheming. Asio would never let him go through with what he was planning, especially not after the events that transpired a few days prior.

 

A loud slam followed by a rumbling of the walls abruptly interrupted his thoughts. Otus scrunched his face and leaned over the edge of his bed. Asio stood in the doorway fuming, angrier than Otus had ever seen him before. He took a deep breath and stepped inside. He slammed the door behind him and harshly drummed his hands against the wall while clenching his jaw. Otus watched silently as his mentor leaned back and slid down slightly and started muttering to himself. 

 

Asio looked up at Otus with the same enraged expression.

 

“You could have died because of his actions! Died! You! Now I do not know what you were trying to do with stopping him from telling me, but his actions will not be going unpunished. If it were up to me, he would be banished from Vellie AND Advent permanently. However, he is not my student, though I cannot imagine he will be Strix’s for very much longer either. I have sent him to tell him the same story. Now, I am going to go assist the others in rebuilding Advent. I want  _ you  _ to stay and continue to rest. I will hopefully be back late tomorrow morning.” Asio turned to leave again, but before doing so he added with extra emphasis, “Do. Not. Leave. This. House.”

 

Otus forced a grin and nodded as he left. He felt absolutely horrible for Solus and made a mental note to try and make it up to him later. For the time being, he had some adventuring to do. If Asio really wasn’t going to come back until later the next morning, that would give him a little over a day. It would be a little risky to disappear for long so soon, so a day trip was enough for now. In case Asio decided to send someone to check on him, he would leave a simple note. 

 

‘Went out for a short walk, be back soon :)’

 

That would probably hold off any worry for a little while at least.

 

Otus set out soon after leaving the note on his bed. He took a deep breath in and looked up into the sky. It was just… sky. No floating islands covering the blue stretch of oblivion above him. No massive walls of vine or rock to cage them in. Otus lifted the wings of his cloak and smiled. It felt… free.

 

Luckily, the majority of his pain was gone. Otus made his way towards the beach, passing sights that were all too familiar, and yet at the same time, completely new to him. He’d always had a natural sense of direction, but with the world now mostly flat, he’d have to relearn it all over again. 

 

Otus arrived at the beach lost in thought, and paused when he stood at the water’s edge. He lifted one hand to his forehead to shield his eyes and squinted out at the horizon. The thought of other worlds existing out there was almost unbelievable. 

 

After one last look towards Vellie, Otus took a running leap and took off into the air.


	5. Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh captain my captain

The ocean seemed to stretch on for eternity and covered every inch of the visible horizon. The further out Otus flew, the more powerful the waves became, reaching heights he never knew possible. To be fair, he’d never seen the ocean up so close before. From the height Vellie used to be suspended, it was never necessary to go all the way down to the surface just to go back up again. 

 

After about a half hour of nonstop flight, Otus stopped to hover in mid air and examine his surroundings. To his sides was ocean, to his front was ocean, and behind him was ocean. If he squinted, he could just barely make out Vellie’s shoreline in the distance. 

 

The extent of what he was doing suddenly struck him. If he exhausted himself out here, he would inevitably plummet into the ocean again, this time without anyone knowing where he was at all. Otus wanted to stop and think things through more, but where could he? All that was below him was the cold, salty seawater.  

 

He decided that he’d come this far. If he really started feeling tired, he’d don the ancient cloak and head back. Hopefully he would at least find another landmass soon enough. Noctae wouldn’t send him out to explore if he didn’t think he could make it, surely. 

 

The moment Vellie disappeared from visibility, Otus spotted a tiny new island quickly coming into view. It couldn’t have been larger than 4 acres in total. The island was dotted with several intricately designed, yet crumbling structures. Within a few minutes, Otus had successfully reached the island’s beach and made a rather hasty, messy landing that he wasn’t exactly proud of. Once he’d shaken the sand out of his hair, he straightened himself out and surveyed the surroundings.

 

The island, he could tell almost immediately, was most likely abandoned, and had been for a very long time. The structures resembled the owl temples back where he came from, making Otus feel slightly more at home. Each one had the same ancient owl-symbol carvings and mysterious aura. 

 

Otus inspected each building carefully, wondering if he could find anything worth salvaging. 

 

Grass grew through the cracks in the walls, bugs scurried across the broken floors, and the windows were devoid of any glass. The remaining artifacts left behind, mostly vases and similar decor, had all mostly been smashed. Otus made his way across the island, satisfied to have found it but disappointed that it was decrepit and empty. Any ancient text written on the walls was too worn to be read, even with his magnifying glass translator. He continued on, leaving no stone unturned.

 

Eventually he approached what looked like a workshop of sorts tucked behind a cluster of tropical trees and vines. Otus approached the door, gripping its handle tightly with both hands and gave it a tug. The door refused to budge, so Otus lifted one leg and steadied it on the outer wall. He tugged again, using the added force from his foot to finally force the vines to snap and the door to swing open. A cloud of dust burst forth from the abandoned workshop, making Otus wheeze and cough. 

 

Inside there was a table full of abandoned and broken tools and unfinished blueprints barely hanging on the walls. Discarded screws and scrap metal littered the floor and piles of wood were messily stacked in each of the corners. It was what was in the middle of the room, however, that really caught Otus’ eye. It was something fairly large, covered completely by an old off-white blanket. He hesitantly took hold of the blanket’s edge and gently yanked it off. He stopped, gripping the blanket in his hand, to marvel at the thing he’d uncovered.

 

It was a ship of sorts, big enough to comfortably fit a few people, but little enough to fit inside the small warehouse. Its base was like a large wooden dinghy, with a small cabin-esque cube on its back. Within the tiny cabin was the way underneath the ship, only tall enough to crouch in, but containing a bed, kitchenette, and storage area. The ship’s rudders were stylized to resemble feathered wings, as were a pair of odd protrusions on either side of the ship. Otus pulled on a handle in the middle of the ship and watched in stunned amazement as a long wooden pole extended upwards with a large white sail tied to it. The ship reminded him somewhat of those the pirates flew, but shorter and longer, and built for leisure rather than combat. He wondered if perhaps this was another airship. 

 

Otus spent his next hour trying to figure out how to get the ship out of the workshop. It was too heavy for him to pull himself, and it wasn’t suspended on any kind of wheel-pulley system. 

 

With an hour wasted, he decided to consult Noctae’s journal.  _ Would he have written anything about this? Hopefully. _ Otus pulled out the old journal along with the blank one for himself and the magnifying glass translator. He started skimming through, hoping to find a sketch of the ship or something similar. When he didn’t find any, he immediately began to sketch one for himself in his own notebook. It took up two full pages, and took him another hour to complete, as he wanted to get all of the fine details just right.

 

The one time Noctae’s disembodied voice was needed was the one time it didn’t show up, so Otus took things into his own hands.

 

He boarded the ship, set his bag down at the edge, then carefully shuffled across its deck, examining every surface. He came across a small box built into the deck, and quickly managed to wrench it open. Inside was a pair of old goggles, an old hat, old gloves, and some kind of sword sheath belt with a small sword still tucked inside it. The objects were most likely made for the intended captain, though none of it seemed worn or used…

 

_...It wouldn’t hurt to… mess around a bit, right? _

 

Otus put the goggles over the hat, and set them on his head. He fastened the sheath around himself, and put the gloves over his own silver gauntlets. All he needed now was a fancy coat, and he’d be set. 

 

He dug around the contents of the ship further, searching for a coat, until he finally found one in a tiny closet hidden behind the cabin part’s door. 

 

Otus posed on the ship’s deck and giggled silently to himself. He, an owl perfectly capable of flight, transformed into an airship captain with the help of a few accessories. He actually felt… pretty good about wearing the items, and didn’t feel like taking them off.

 

_ Now, how to get the thing to work? _

 

He tried everything, from pulling on the wooden wings to pushing air into the sail with his owl cloak. Otus was about to give up, when he leaned backwards and accidentally fell into something. He felt a lever mechanism give way behind him, and the ship rumbled to life. Otus stumbled and lost his balance, falling to the deck in shock. The airship raised, its wood creaking slightly as it did so. Once it had risen about a food off the ground, he stood again and hopped off the side. He took hold of a thick rope coiled on the deck, tied one end to the center mast, and wrapped the other around his wrist. Otus then marched towards the workshop’s doors, trailing the ship behind him.

 

_ Finders keepers? _

 

Perhaps he subconsciously felt entitled to the ancient technology, technically being Noctae’s modern-age student and all. Plus, if he had his own little airship, he could easily make it to farther islands unhindered. 

 

Once outside, the sail of the ship picked up on the wind and puffed out, but the ship luckily didn’t budge and float away. In the light, Otus could see that some of the details on the sail matched ones ancient cloak. Now he REALLY felt cool. Matching sail for matching cloak for an airship that HE got to be the captain of. Noctae would have been able to calculate his finding of the ship. If he really had anything against the idea, he would have probably left a note. 

 

Otus led the ship to the beach, and pointed it towards Vellie so that he could take it back with him and fix it up himself for more travels. He may have not been the brightest academically when it came to books, but hands-on learning and experiences were his specialty. After the disappearance of his father Scops and mother Lettia, he had to learn how to do a lot of physical tasks by himself, like rebuilding broken furniture and other objects. That, and he may have picked up a thing or two from Geddy. Geddy, though, was better with machines. Otus liked to think that he himself was superior when it came to works more similar to aesthetics and carpentry. 

 

The growling of his stomach brought him back to reality from his daydreaming. Otus flew up into the trees to search for food and wondered what kind of things to eat a whole new island would have.

 

He spotted something growing from one branch that LOOKED edible at least. Otus grabbed the fruit and yanked it off the branch. He cautiously smelled it before taking a bite just in case it was poisonous. 

 

The fruit tasted similar to things he’s had before, but still had its own unique sweetness. Otus gathered as many as he could fit in his bag and hopped down from the tree. As he hit the ground he stumbled, feeling dizzy and tired. A little nap after a meal wouldn’t hurt, surely. He bunched up a small pile of leaves at the foot of the tree, curled up, and drifted off to sleep. 

 

~~~

 

Otus wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he woke up. All he did know is that the sky looked dark and everything was quiet.

 

_ Oh no. _

 

He leapt up and rushed back to the airship, still pointed towards Vellie and ready for departure. There probably wasn’t any time left to form a better plan, so he decided he’d just have to pull the ship back manually and learn to fly it properly later. 

 

Otus dug an old rope out of one of the ship’s storage crates and tied one around its mast and the other around himself. Because the ship floated, it would be easier to tug, but he’d still have trouble doing it himself. 

 

He summoned the ancient owl cloak to help him pull and immediately took off from the island, ship in tow.

 

He only hoped that he’d make it back before Asio returned to his home to check on him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS SHORT BUT I JUST WANTED TO GET IT OUT HHFHDKJFHDKJF 
> 
> Exams are over and it's winter break! Family finally all left! Time!!!

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter was pretty short, but the next will be much longer!!!


End file.
